Monday, 8 July 2013

In my kitchen - July 2013

In my ktichen, the old and the new, the frivolous and the healthy nestle side by side. Sylvia is particularly taken with the new and the frivolous. That is why I let her buy some fairy cake toppers in a cake decorating store recently. I suspect they will never seen a cake. At the moment they have buttons on their tips. Aren't they fun!

In my kitchen is more frivolity. I love fancy cupcake papers. These are from Coles Supermarkets. But they never seem to show well on cupcakes or muffins. They just get brown with oil and cake crumbs. Maybe we can make these into paper flowers instead.

In my ktichen the old and the new eye off each other suspiciously. And with good reason. You may wonder why my old icing sugar container is upside down. If you look closely you may see the crack in the bottom (no rude jokes please). I love these tubs for my flours and sugars. They have been with me about 10 years but they are getting brittle. Falls can be fatal. I need to find a new set of tubs. The one in the photo is not big enough. It is just holding the fort right now.

In my kitchen lunches are often on the fly. We have our standards. Hummus and bikkies, sushi, baked beans, pikelets. Every now and again they are worth shouting to the rooftops. This sandwich was brilliant. Hummus, crushed quinoa balls, grated carrot, grated home made soy cheese. If only I had these ingredients on hand more often.

In my kitchen, I sometimes find something exciting to snack on after lunch. This caramelised fig yoghurt is a recent favourite. It is every bit as good as the name suggests. What a fantastic flavour! It suggests so many wonderful possibilities. Smoothies, cakes, ice cream.

In my kitchen are fun vegetables from the local farmers market. Romanescu cauliflower must win my award for being so amazing to look at that I don't want to use it. It is so special that I can't think of a recipe that will feature it without burying it, yet I can't just boil such vegetable freakishness. In the end I tried to make cauliflower steaks on one of Sylvia's bad nights. Half were undercooked and half were forgotten and burnt. Sigh!

In my ktichen is colour. Golden beetroot. So many possibilities for recipes. Quiche, dips, soup, risotto. I ended up cooking it in a lentil soup that was a bit heavy on the lentils. Yummy but the lovely golden chunks were buried.

In my kitchen are alternatives to the usual fizzy water we drink. I couldn't resist this kombucha at the Coburg Farmers Market. I am kombucha-curious. It is more refreshing than sugary drinks. Yet I am still unsure of the stuff. I was warned to only drink 100ml a day for the first few days in case I had a reaction. It smells of garbage. It tastes interesting but odd. I am still unsure if I should feel the health benefits or just feel good about a healthy drink. I am not sure I am so keen on having it in my fridge again. But if I see it as a drink option when I am out, I wont say no.

In my ktichen is art. It is nice to have more time for art and craft with Sylvia right now. The cupboard doors are our gallery. Here is a recent painting that Sylvia and I did together. I love doing art with her and I think she learns this way. I drew the purple boat. She drew the orange one under the mermaid rock. I started the mermaid, she finished it. I drew a boy throwing a ball. She drew a pink girl with a pink ball. I drew dog paw prints. She drew monster footprints. Yes there are monster footprints in our kitchen. Be afraid!

Thanks Janet - oh, bikkies are Aussie slang for biscuits and to be precise I am referring to rice crackers - sorry if it seemed a bit mysterious - that is how we often refer to them. And yes they are good.

Thanks Lorraine - this beetroot was purchased at the Coburg Farmers Market (if your someone is in the neighbourhood) but I am sure it is not the first time I have bought it so am surprised you haven't seen it about - I would suggest farmers markets or trendy fruit and veg shops

Oh, I love your kitchen. Those fairies are beautiful - good on you for indulging Sylvia! - and that cauliflower is swoon-worthy. I also relate to the challenges of finding containers that are 'just right' for what you want to store in them, and the balance between sturdy and not too heavy. On your new yoghurt discovery, I forced Mr Bite to buy and try one when I saw them recently :P He usually has a different 'blood orange' flavour in that range. He told me he'd be sticking to that from now on...but I'm sure if I still ate yoghurt I'd like the caramel fig flavour as much as you do!

Thanks Kari - I think Sylvia had a choice of about three sets of cake toppers she wanted and chose these ones. Good choice! I saw the blood orange flavour but I think it was also mango and I hated mango and orange juice that we had as kids (or maybe just have bad memories because I think I drank it). I am sure there are great possibilities for a vegan caramlised fig flavouring in cakes or tarts.

I love the look of your sandwich and am intrigued about your homemade soy cheese. Kombucha hasn't captured my interest given the many descriptions I've read about it. What a shame your romenesco cauliflower dish didn't work out according to plan!

Thanks Mel - The soy cheese is the one I made last year - I have now put in the link that I forgot about earlier. I made it to pair with a chutney but am less enthused about the chutney than the cheese. I think I wasn't really sure what I was doing with the cauliflower - just wanted to admire it rather than cook and eat it :-)

Thanks Joanne - I must try the double lining with cupcake liners. And I would love to go to a store with lots of kombucha flavours - I had lime kombucha a few months back and really enjoyed it - so much nicer than a sugary drink

I really enjoyed everything in your kitchen- but the art was fascinating!I love doing art with children (my grandson recently told me that I'm the only one he will let color in his books with him because I'm "so good with colors"- I colored 'the Thing' in yellow orange and light red and thought it was "fantastic")Anyway- love that you started and she finished the drawings and that you used so many different styles and ideas in one project!

Thanks heidiannie - I love art with kids - they are so open. Glad you liked the painting - we actually started it and got halfway through before a meltdown so it kicked around for a while and I was glad when we finished it

I love what you have going on in your kitchen. Fantastic cake toppers & liners. I seem to collect these sorts of things but cannot bring myself to use them. Am loving your cauliflower too. It's fantastic what you can find at farmer's markets isn't it. I made Kombucha myself once but then couldn't bring myself to drink it :) But I am more than happy to drink it if someone else makes it.

Thanks Tania - making your own kombucha sounds like a big achievement but I can see why you might not want to drink it after being too closely involved in making it. I collect lots of stuff that is too gorgeous to use - much better when it is cake toppers than romanescu cauliflower :-)

Johanna, snap! I have a photo of romanesco broccoli as well on my blog today - did you know that it grows in a logarithmic spiral? Those fairy toppers are the cutest thing ever - and I don't even have girls! And adore your collaborative artwork - I hope you both signed it! :)

Thanks Marianne - I guess from your question that you don't live in Melbourne or I would direct you to Cake Deco - they do have an online shop. Pikelets are like little dense pancakes - I have put a link on this post to my post about pikelets

Ooo I just loved taking a peek into your kitchen! I'm in love with everything! Those fairy cake toppers are just too cute- they would make any baked good just gorgeous! Loved your veggies as well. It must be so inspiring to cook with these colorful beauties. And I'll be on the look out for caramelized fig yogurt. Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing Johanna :)

Thanks Emilie - the caramelised fig yoghurt is superb - hope you find some. The coloured vegies really delight me - but I just want them on my mantlepiece and admire them as it always seems a shame to cook with it :-)

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.